I'm coming back !!!!

After a dodgy night sleep I made myself get up to head to SWEAT this morning as now that I have made the choice to not do 6 foot because I want to get stronger, I have to make sure that I focus on that and not let it be an opportunity to bludge. After a quick warm up and into the drills I noticed that my legs were feeling a little heavy after the run on the weekend, particularly my quads. Nothing too bad so there was no excuses I had to put in the effort today. I had 3 x 1200m on the program but Sean advised us that we could start at 1km loop and then move up to the 1400m. When we took off on the 1km loop I noticed that I wasnt too far away from the people that I was usually near pre-injury so I was quite happy. The last time I done speed work I was having trouble breathing as I wasnt use to running fast for a long time but it wasnt as bad this time around. I didnt really fade at the end but I didnt have the kick at the end that I usually do but was very pleased when Sean called out 4.40. This is the first time since pre injury at the beginning of December that I have managed sub 5 min k's. I felt quite buggered afterwards but was happy to recover quite quickly. Most of us got moved on to the 1400m crew. I managed to have the leaders near by for a while which made me happy, however, near the end when everyone started to kick it through to the finish I was feeling like I was fading a little. Managed to finish around 6.40 ( cant remember exact split). When I looked at the time I realised that it was already 7.00 and I had to get to work earlier this morning as my big boss was in town and I had to look enthusiastic.

All in all I am very happy with my session today, even though I had to miss the last rep. I still felt like I had another rep in me. I am looking forward to getting back into training seriously and getting ready for camp. I have to say I felt really great on the bus on the way to work as I have missed that buzz of doing a really good speed session.

Back in the groove

I headed off to the gym today at lunch and managed to do some cardio and weights particularly paying attention to my glutes. I was meant to do a 20 min water run from my program, however, heading to the beach on my own is not really my thing so I thought a gym session would do fine. I felt so great after the session, I can feel that my mojo for all things fitness are coming back after my couple of week slump. I am currently working out when would be a good time for me to take my 4 weeks annual leave that I have owing. The idea of having a month off before I start a new adventure sounds very exciting.

Oaks Trail - another Blue Mountains run under the belt

It has been a very big weekend for me. After having some final tests done on Friday I got news that I was OK. I also had some work farewells that night so I decided to have a very rare big night out. After finishing at my work function I met up with my friend J and he always seems to lead me astray. Lets just say it was a very big night and I felt absolutely rotten on Saturday. Its almost like once a year I need to get absolutely tanked to remind myself of why I am a runner and not a partyer. I couldnt even manage to eat at all during the day.

After Running Angel had told me that she would like to come to the Oaks trail rather than doing the SMC 10km. I knew that I had to head up no matter how crap I felt. Because there was a later start I didnt have to get up till 7am so it felt great not having a 3.30am start. By the time we hit Glenbrook (which is surprisingly a short trip if you're using tolls) we were lucky we were early as the 9.22 am train to take us to Woodford came at 9.10 and we had to quickly jump on. It was funny as the train was packed with mountain bikers. Some hopped off where we did and some were heading further up the mountain. We realised that David wasnt on the train as we were meant to be meeting him and we werent sure when the Wentworth Falls to Glenbrook guys would be passing through Woodford so we decided to head off as it was already getting to 9.45 and bloody warm. The trail was really nice and we were surprised at the beginning how quickly time was flying. It makes such a big difference having nice scenery. It seemed as though we were often playing tag team with the mountain bikers as they would keep overtaking us and then stop so we would overtake them.

I was feeling OK for most of the way. I could feel like the run was making me feel a bit more human. Once we reached around the 14km mark the run became more exposed and we really started to feel the heat. There was a bit of a breeze every now and then which was greatly welcomed but it was really hot. It was a shame that once we hit the 21km mark I started to feel crap as this was where we could do most of the running as it was all downhill. The effects of not eating the day before and being dehydrated started to hit me. I was also worried about not having enough water as my camelbak started to feel rather light. I ran out of water about 500m before the creek. I was OK with this as I knew there was only around 3km left. At the creek I had a bit of a shower and filled my cap with water which was nice. I also filled my water bottle so I could keep pouring it on myself on the climb out of the creek. It was pretty tough climbing out of the creek. I was gasping for water. We were really lucky when we saw a visitors centre and they had drinking water there. I dont know what I was thinking but I filled my pack up completely (we only had a couple of K's left !!) we were soooo happy to see the train tracks on the way back. With a quick stop to ask for directions we were on our way to the station. I have never been so happy to see my car (OK, maybe at Megalong!!).

Milov was not far behind us and he went off to grab us some drinks. Some of the others started to come in dribs and drabs and we all sat around having a good chat about starting up a trail running series. I couldnt believe how fast time flew and we realised we better head home. I had Milov and Running Angel with me in the car and it was the first trip home from the Blue Mountains lately where I wasnt falling asleep driving !! Although I felt crappy on the run I feel so much better for having done it. I think it really got rid of all those toxins I put into my body. Just a shame that I got better just in time to go to work tomorrow. All up today between 27.5-28km.

Big Decisions....

Well, I have been dreading this post for a while, it has been a long time coming. I havent been doing much in the way of running since Megalong just squeezing in 5-8km runs wherever I can. I have been extremely fatigued in the last 2 weeks which have been due to the job searching I have been doing with lots of interview, work has also stepped up as someone else in the team is leaving, Dean and I are looking for a new place (unsuccessfully as the search in my price range come up with about 5 places!!) and I have also had a bit of a health scare which has had me doing tests and seeing Doctors. I had all the intention of doing the KJ's Albion Park Rail to the Gong run, but after waking up at 5.30 am and realising that it was not just raining but there was an electrical storm I decided to roll over and sleep in (I love running in the rain, but lightning is another level of stupidity).

I went along to SWEAT this morning and spoke to Sean about the fact that I really didnt feel ready for 6 foot at the moment. I think for me to attempt it I would need to be at the speeds that I was doing before I got injured in December as I have just been too slow lately. I wasnt really feeling that confident about the race and knew that it would be a battle to scrape in at 7 hours. I am the type of person that finishes everything I start so knowing that my chances were 50:50 were just not good enough for me. One rule that I have with my running is that I always make my choices based on if I will enjoy it and I think there was a good chance I was heading for an unenjoyable experience and the training had started to become a bit like a chore. I have to admit as well that I wasnt as obsessed with it as I think you need to be, I have really been more concerned lately with building up my strength and speed again and getting myself ready for camp. A little disappointing but as soon as I knew I wasnt doing it anymore I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders as a part of me has known for a while that it was not a likely thing.

Training went well this morning. Still not up to the speeds I was in December but I felt as though I made a little progress today as I noticed I wasnt getting overtaken as much and I made sure I done the whole 10 laps of Big Bertha. As per usual it was my glutes feeling weak and the rest of the muscles were doing all the work. I also noticed that I havent been used to running at a quicker pace for a while so my cardio is going to have to catch up.

So, next big thing for me is SWEAT camp over easter. I am really looking forward to it. At first I was only going to go for the 4 days but I think I might stay for longer and mix in other activities such as kayaking etc and get Dean down there again. I really want to get my strength up again before camp so I can really make the most out of it because I got so much out of it last time.

I dont think my training for 6 ft has gone to waste as I have really fallen in love with trail running and have enjoyed finding some of the most beautiful places that are surprisingly close to Sydney.

The only decision I have to make now is whether I try and sell someone my entry or do I leave it for next year ?????

Managed to get out of bed...

Well, I managed to get out of bed this morning at 5am as I was meeting Running Angel for our mid week long run. When the alarm went off I could have sworn it was still midnight. After picking her up on the way we headed off around the Park at 5.30. My legs were feeling quite tired and there was no chance of gaining any type of speed today. I pretty much knew before I headed out that I was not going to be doing a long run as per on my program (18km) as I was quite tight and didnt want to risk pulling anything. After 8km I decided that I would do some stretching and head off and left RA to finish her run. When I got home I still had enough time to do some strength work and abs.

After getting to work I realised I was much better for having gone for a run. My legs started to feel a bit fresher. Its funny how sometimes when your tired, doing nothing actually makes it worse.

I'm off to the Captain Cook Hotel for dinner tonight with Dean and some friends and then we are off to see comedian Arj Barker at the Opera House so it should be a good night.

Megalong Mega

Well, I've been dreading writing this post, but here it is.

On Thursday I went to see Tiger and what was another painful session, he confirmed what I thought and my glutes are absolutely piss weak. I have no strength in them at the moment. Great!! On Friday and Saturday I went to the gym and done some cross training and weights in anticipation of heading to the track for the first time for the Megalong Mega. My entire Saturday was mostly spent preparing for the run on Sunday as there are so many extra things that need to be done when running on the trail. Food, drinks, camelbak, maps, directions, full tank of gas....

Running Angel from SWEAT had decided that although she wasnt training for 6 ft she would like to get out and do some trail running. After checking on whereis and leaving some extra time (after missing the train last weekend) I was up at 3.30 am again.

I found my way all the way through to Megalong Rd easily, but we had a bit of a giggle after I ended up pulling in to check the map. I pulled out and literally drove 50m and found Megalong Cemetary and were greeted by Kevin. We were quite a bit early arriving at 6.15 but with all the toilet stops we needed before hand, buying the dirt cheap 6 ft gear and fixing up our equipment time went by quickly.

We all headed off a bit later (around 7.10) and RA and I settled into a nice slow pace while some of the others charged off. It was a nice jog down to Cox's and I noticed that it was a bit more technical than any of the other trails I had been on. When we got to Cox's river I was deciding whether to go through the water, but chickened out and hopped across the rocks. I remember being surprised at the size of the animal crap I saw until I saw all the cows near the river (wasnt expecting that). We then hit the climb up to Mini Mini. I had no idea how steep it was going to be. I kept trying to remember to climb up and not get on my toes so I didnt blow my calves. Some parts were just so steep I was forgetting. I couldnt believe how drenched I was with sweat. Kevin soon caught us after fixing up some of the stragglers. He joined us on the way to the top of Mini Mini and diverted our attention by answering loads of questions I had and chatting about the run in general.

When we were at the top of Mini Mini RA decided that she might turn around here as we had been going for around 2 hours. Kevin and I headed down to Alum river and got ready for the climb up Pluvi. To cut a long story short, lets just say that I found it extremely overwhelming. My garmin died the other day so I was relying on Kevin to let me know when it might finish. He kept telling me he thought it was around the corner but it seemed to go on forever. I reached the top of Pluvi and had been running for around 2hrs 50. I couldnt believe how slow this run is. We had a fair bit of a stop at the top, bumping into some dirt bikers who we offered the water to as we were the last runners. I think we were stopped there for around 15 min before we headed off again for the return trip. I couldnt believe how quick I managed to reach the bottom of Pluvi compared to how long it took to get up there. I was having quite a bit of trouble with my stomach. I was getting lots of cramps. I think it was from the powerade as I was OK when I switched to water. I was trying to put up with it on the downs so that I could let it ease on the ups when I would be walking.

On the run back down to Cox's river I noticed that my last check of the BOM website of 24 degrees and cloudy was slightly inacurate at this point. There was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature seemed to be soaring. I dont handle well in the heat so it was really starting to hit me. When we got to Cox's river I filled up my bladder again and we were on our way again.

All I can remeber of the climb back up to Megalong was that I hated it. I dont remember running at all, I just had nothing in the tank. It didnt seem like that many steps on the way down but seemed like they went on forever on the way back. All I could think of when I was on the return was one of the girls from work who was having a nice champagne brunch at Potts Point at that moment, why cant I choose more leisurely hobbies. It also seemed like yesterday that I was running with RA, it felt like ages since I'd seen her. It took me way too long to get out from that creek. I kept asking Kevin, please tell me your honest opinion of whether I should be running 6 ft, almost looking for him to say I shouldnt, but he didnt....

I was extremely happy to start seeing the gates and ladders as I knew these meant I was near the end. I was extremely happy when I finished and saw RA at the end of the track and apologised for taking so long. As soon as I started to get some extra fluids into me and a bit of food I actually started to feel OK. I made sure I quickly freshened up and put my skins on. Its amazing how bad my short-term memory is as I was completely hating the run but as soon as I finished all I could remember was the good parts. Very wierd...

We later headed into Blackheath and had a nice chicken schnity and chips. Great recovery food. I struggled not to fall asleep on the trip home. By the time I got home and took off my skins and had another good feed I noticed that I was feeling quite good. Dean had organised for us to play ten pin bowling with another couple so I amazed myself that I didnt get to bed by 11pm. (BTW come second in first game and last in the last 2 games - fatigue was definately setting in).

Lessons learnt from my first visit to the track
- I really need to strengthen my glutes they were quite weak and frankly I need them on the hills
- It was overwhelming but from now on I need to toughen up. I was stopping sometimes when I clearly should have pushed on
- I need to eat more. This is one I am constantly trying to learn. I was out there for a bloody long time and had a total of 2 gels.